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“Citizen contribution in primary education coupled with policy to shape nation’s growth trajectory”: Dr Rukmini Banerji

In her Foundation Day lecture at IIM Bangalore on ‘Opportunities & Challenges for Education in Today’s India’, the CEO of Pratham Education Foundation explores what it takes to boost primary and pre-primary education in the country 

28 October, 2024, Bengaluru: “A deep focus on primary and pre-primary education has become a key focus area for India, and a lot depends on how much each one of us, as citizens of the country, can contribute to help children catch up and progress in terms of education. The Government has devised the New Education Policy and has adopted several other important initiatives. Now, all of us need to pitch in and play a decisive role in transforming India,” pointed out Dr Rukmini Banerji, Chief Executive Officer, Pratham Education Foundation, while delivering the Foundation Day lecture on, ‘Opportunities & Challenges for Education in Today’s India’, during IIM Bangalore’s 51st Foundation Day celebrations, earlier today. The entire IIMB community, comprising faculty, former faculty, alumni, students and staff, were part of the event. 

Dr Rukmini Banerji was trained as an economist at St. Stephen’s College (Delhi) and the Delhi School of Economics. She was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and completed her PhD at the University of Chicago. She has worked extensively for Pratham’s education programs in rural and urban areas. Along with her teams, she has played a major role in designing and supporting large-scale partnerships with state governments in India, for improving children’s learning outcomes. In 2008, she received the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Shiksha Puraskar conferred by the Government of Bihar, India, being the first recipient of this award. In 2021, she was awarded the Yidan Prize for Education Development. She writes frequently on education in both Hindi and English dailies in India. 

Schooling & Learning: Spot the difference 

During her address, she shared her experiences over the last 30 years in her mission towards boosting primary and pre-primary education in the country. She quoted data from community level and national-level assessments, including the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), which was started in 2005. “We currently have 250 million school going children and school enrolments are rising consistently, even post-Covid. What is needed now is more value addition to accelerate the children’s academic progress, in terms of ability of reading and knowledge of numbers.”  

“To address some of the challenges, the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach was adopted, leading to better outcomes in learning.” Calling NEP as an opportunity to develop a continuum approach and enhance skills, she added, “The NEP recognizes the importance of early childhood education, and aims for a strong foundation of children’s development and learning. The policy clearly outlines the foundational literacy-numeracy goals for the country. All India figures also suggest that there has been gradual improvement from 2014 to 2018, in both reading and basic math, although interrupted by Covid. The NIPUN Bharat mission in states is also working hard towards these goals. With sustained efforts, the nation is sure to realize all these goals”, she observed. 

“The highest priority of the education system will be to achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy in primary schools by 2025. What we do in the next five years will decide India’s destiny for the rest of the century.”  

Her engaging address was followed by an interactive session with the audience, moderated by Prof. Sourav Mukherji, Dean, Alumni Relations & Development, and faculty of the Organizational Behavior & Human Resources Management area of IIMB. Discussing the role and impact of technology in primary education, she said that along with technology (which she said became a crucial driver of education during Covid), people-to-people exchange is just as essential. 

Watch here: https://youtube.com/live/qUsHiLT4usQ?feature=share 

Director’s Address 

Professor Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore, lauded the immense efforts of all the stakeholders of the institute who ensure that IIMB sustains its excellent academic standards, and thanked the Central Government, specifically the Ministry of Education, and the Government of Karnataka, who have provided sustained support to IIMB in all its initiatives, be it in academics or nation building.  

Sharing that the Government of Karnataka has approved the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in FinTech at NSRCEL, at a total cost of INR 13 crores over a five-year period, he added, “This includes incubation and acceleration programs as well as skilling and training programs, which will be undertaken by the IIMBx Digital Learning Foundation.” 

He went on to highlight some of the top accomplishments of IIMB during the past year, including achievements of faculty, students and alumni. “Over the years, IIMB has been engaging with alumni to strengthen their connect with their alma mater. Alumni giving back to IIMB has picked up speed through individual and batch contributions. In August, IIM Bangalore signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mr Mathew Cyriac, Executive Chairman, Florintree Advisors Pvt Ltd and alumnus of the PGP Class of 1994, to pave the way to the setting up of a global Centre of Excellence, the Tony James Centre for Private Equity and Venture Capital, at the campus. This is the single largest ever contribution from an alumnus and we are grateful to Mathew not just for his generous support, but for his extreme thoughtfulness in contributing to the naming of four classrooms on campus after faculty who taught his batch, and for his clarity in setting up scholarships for PGP and PhD students to continue excellent work in the area of finance. His contribution is a powerful statement of the transformative impact that business school alumni can have on their alma mater and industry.” 

He made a special mention of IIMB’s Sustainability Taskforce and the Institute’s initiatives towards making positive impact. “The Sustainability Taskforce works with neighbourhood schools by conducting workshops and programs to create awareness on climate change and the need for adoption of sustainable lifestyles. IIMB also tops the Positive Impact Rating, year-on-year. In this ranking, students worldwide assess their business schools on how they perceive their positive impact on the world. This impact goes beyond their contribution to business and the economy; it addresses the need for positive impact in society.” 

Address by Prof. Malavika R Harita, Member, Board of Governors 

The day’s events included an address by Prof. Malavika R Harita, Member, Board of Governors, IIM Bangalore. “Educational institutions need vision, strategy, plan of action at every level, teamwork and leadership, and imbibing all these have made IIMB one of the top institutes of management education.” 

“The knowledge gained in academic institutes should be applied in the real world. I am happy that IIMB is pursuing this philosophy actively through new programmes and NSRCEL.” 

Talking about the future of education, she highlighted ‘tejasvi navadhitamastu’, which translates to ‘let our study be enlightening’. “This encapsulates the essence of learning and its impact. Learning should illuminate understanding, shape perspective and make our existence more meaningful. It should evoke the desire to explore and change the status quo, if required. And it should add humane layers. The current education system should focus on diversity, without being biased. It should aim to build the future generation of ethical leaders, with courage for course correction and bringing about social change.” 

Long Service Awards: For faculty and staff

The Foundation Day celebrations also saw Long Service Awards being presented to faculty (for 20 years) and non-teaching IIMB staff (for 10 years).

The awards were presented by Prof. Malavika R Harita. 

Alumni Service Awards 

The annual Alumni Service Award (ASA) was launched in 2023 as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations, to recognize past graduates who have made impactful and enduring contributions to the institute, the IIMB Alumni Association (IIMBAA) and the alumni ecosystem. The award winners are selected from a nominated shortlist by a committee comprising faculty members and alumni. This year, the awardees were felicitated on the 51st Foundation Day of IIMB. The recipients of the Alumni Service Awards 2024 are C P Madhusudan, PGP 1993; Pawan Sachdeva, PGP 1996, and Shashank Kothi, PGP 2000. The awards were presented by Harish Mittal, President, IIMB Alumni Association (IIMBAA). 

For details of their profiles, please see attachment

Col (Retd) SD Aravendan, CAO, IIMB, delivered the welcome address and the vote of thanks. 

Staff Recreation Club Events 

On the eve of IIMB's 51st Foundation Day, on 25th October, the institute’s Staff Recreation Club (SRC) hosted a cultural program showcasing an array of performances by staff, their children and students of IIMB. That morning, the SRC Sports Activities Prize and Memento Distribution Ceremony was also held. A host of sporting events were conducted by SRC from 27th September onwards. 

Awards & Scholarships 

The morning of 25th October also saw the Young Achievement Awards being presented, as well as awards for the Anti-Ragging Poster Making competition for the students and the Hindi Fortnight 2024 competition. 

Presentation of PGP Scholarship awards (PGP 2001 and PGP 2008) and Raghuvir Kothi Memorial Scholarship took place, as well. 

Click here for photo gallery